


Momijigari

by sobdasha



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Gen, Momiji coming after your girlfriends, Post-Canon, Spoilers, and everyone just uses the front door now, and other assorted Sohma to a lesser degree, anyway Machi bonds with the Sohma family or something, but i don't write for y'all i write for me and i think this is hilarious, even if it's relevant to the fic am I supposed to tag that, i'm so upset the reboot has erased that hole in the wall of the Sohma estate, if i just tag everything i ever write as spoilers that's safe right, in this house we stan the hole in the wall, ish, oh right if Yuki and Machi are dating but it's not romance, okay so this starts as a fic and then it takes a hard abrupt left into meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26592919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sobdasha/pseuds/sobdasha
Summary: Machi is reading before class starts when Momiji leans over her desk and says, "You like Momiji, right?"[Or, it's autumn, the leaves are changing color, Momiji's name is literally red maple leaves, he likes puns, and Momiji's a shit-starter who is fully aware of the irony of the fact that he has more in common with Machi's favorite things (rabbits, red maple leaves, and a genuine love for Mogeta) than Yuki. Meanwhile, Machi actually enjoys herself. A very wholesome autumn-leaf-hunting for all.]
Kudos: 6





	Momijigari

**Author's Note:**

> So this is reposted from Tumblr, where I have fallen into the habit of skipping titles, summaries, formal style and formatting, and in this one _it shows_. Not only is this pure self-indulgence, but I have a giant paragraph of inserted-author's-note-mid-sentence (hey, it's some quality meta), and then I _completely forgot_ about the part where it takes a sharp left into pure rambling meta for like the entire second half haha w o w. Look I'm so old I remember/was writing fics back when Chapter 97 first came out in scanlations, I do what I want.

Machi is reading before class starts when Momiji leans over her desk and says, "You like Momiji, right?"

The book comes up over her face as she slides down in her chair, with a noncommittal sort of noise that's meant to express _I am invisible please don't ask loaded questions especially about my likes or dislikes also I'm busy_ _being a robot_.

Momiji laughs, long and bright and giggling, and admits, "Okay, that was mean, I know. But you do, right?" he adds, reaching for her book, but only just to point at the bookmark in it. "Like autumn leaves?" This time using the pronunciation that's _not_ a pun on his name.

Machi stares at the bookmark tucked between the pages of _Summer-Colored Sigh_ ,

(originally it was going to be the Mogeta manga but you know what, I like this joke, everyone has read _Summer-Colored Sigh_ , remember Hatori "This book is disgusting. … Why are you holding your hand out like that, I'm not going to actually _stop_ , I want to see how absolutely disgusting it is" Souma. Even Tohru has read it you know she did, she has to respect Shigure's author talent. If it's really that dirty then Saki book-clubbed with her and Arisa afterwards just to make sure Tohru didn't get any truly weird ideas from it. They'd offer to do the same for Kyou but Kazuma has _also_ read this book and Saki trusts him to give his boy informative talks. Anyway Machi discovered it in her bag the other day and she assumed Yuki put it there because that seems like the kind of shit Yuki would pull these days, or maybe it's some kind of weird boyfriend hint?? But Yuki would never do that because that would involve admitting he has read the book, _which_ he absolutely has; actually Ayame recommended it to Kakeru and Kakeru was the one who snuck it into Machi's bag, ANYWAY)

the one she made with the red maple leaf, and she scowls with her lips pressed thin in her too-warm face while she considers it, because she doesn't want to admit that the thing she likes about it is Yuki.

"Okay well the reason I'm asking," Momiji continues on, sprinting right over her obstinacy, "is because the autumn foliage at our house is getting ready to peak this week I think and you should come over on our day off to see it! We're really rich, so it's very gorgeous, we've got a lot of old-fashioned houses and traditional gardens, and I'm going to have a picnic with lots of snacks…" He ticks off on his fingers, trailing off, and then flashes her a grin. "So you'll definitely come, won't you?"

"Nnn," says Machi. She tries to slide a little further down in her desk, but it's very difficult with Momiji standing right there and making her have to scrunch up her legs.

Momiji has had a growth spurt, and he is now very tall, and still very German, and perfectly loud. In addition, he has no one to impress here with his new maturity, Tohru being not in their class, and so he crumples his face up in earnest disappointment, and dials the manipulation up to eleven, and pleads like a child half his age: _you have to come, you have to, it will be so much fun, please say you'll come, you will come won't you_.

And then the next thing you know it's _aw, you can't say no to that, Kuragi_ and _why don't you go, Kuragi_ , and Machi is caving to the peer pressure. Maybe it does sound fun, going out and doing _things_. Or maybe the point is to go to _see_ if it is fun. Maybe she'll take a ginko leaf back with her so she can throw it in her stupid boyfriend's face.

Yes.

So Sunday finds Machi at the Souma estate, which is indeed as pretentious and historical as Momiji described. It makes her feel a bit like a child again, in an unpleasantly squirmy way.

(There are momiji, red maples, at the gate, tucked among tall pines. Also at the gate is Momiji, looking very aggrieved while some person--arms crossed over their bundled-up layers--lectures him about _I opened the gate, it's open, you can bring your friends in through here,_ stop _dragging them through that hole in the wall it's a_ liability _if we get sued that's coming out of your trust fund_.)

Hatsuharu is there too, and he gives her a wave when he sees her. There's a whole cluster of people--Hatsuharu introduces a girl named Rin, who gives her her condolences ("So I hear you're dating Yuki"), and a younger girl bites her lip and bounces on the balls of her feet before she bursts out that she's Kisa and this is Hiro. And Kagura is pleased to meet her, as well.

Maybe Momiji and Haru also invited some other friends from their class, taking advantage of the fact that this is a thing Souma can do now? Would having more school people over balance out the former-Zodiac clique-y-ness, or would that just make Machi even more isolated and pushed to the sidelines if she's not the sole focus of Souma attention? Either way idk about any of those kids so you can just imagine them in here if you like. Me, I'm trash for Souma shenanigans.

"Aww, I'm sorry," Momiji tells Machi as they stroll along down the road in a straggling group. "It's so much more fun to sneak in, because then it feels like you're getting away with something! But the family head caught me."

Machi doesn't know how to answer this. Machi doesn't know why this entire family is apparently like this. Machi is unaware that some time from now, when Yuki starts bringing her around to visit officially, he will insist every time on using the hole in the wall just because he can, and she'll know _exactly_ what he means as he takes her hand and tugs her to scramble through and they both emerge with clothes a little rumpled and leaves in their branch-snarled hair.

But for now, Machi tucks her hands in her coat pockets and looks around as they meander to the picnic spot, taking in the riot of green and gold and red and brown, all cluttered and contrasting like clouds of brightly-saturated fog. Dried-up leaves crunch under their shoes, and the disorder makes Machi remember about a book that Yuki shared with her that Honda found for him in the library, all about cottage gardens. His vegetable plot is nice orderly rows, but Honda said this looked more like him, all a jumble of vegetables and flowers and herbs together, growing up even on the roofs of the houses. Machi thought she could love a house like that.

She knows that the Souma gardens aren't really very similar--that they'll be traditional Japanese gardens, a very rigid attempt to recreate the spontaneity of nature, a very controlled effort to emulate chaos, that every unexpected surprise and asymmetrical detail is purposefully planned. That it's _perfect_.

But it's pretty anyway, the branches of the trees trespassing over the walls that hem everything in, and with everyone chattering around her to fill in the silence it doesn't make her chest feel as tight as she thought. Machi breathes in the crisp, cool late-November air and thinks she's glad to be here.

The group ends up near a pond, probably, because the dark water and the reflections of the leaves on the water and the bright leaves floating on the surface would be really pretty. Maybe there are expensive fish. They'll set up their picnic blanket under some brilliantly red maples. They'll have tea, they'll eat sweets--I tried googling what to eat for autumn leaves viewing but the internet was not particularly helpful, all I really learned is that once again all the amazing KitKat flavors are exclusive to Japan which is Unfair and also that people tempura maple leaves which sounds...not great but maybe I'm wrong.

Also Rin and Machi failed the Bedschel test earlier so now I'm trying to think of interests they all share outside of Yuki and because I am uncreative my answer to this is Mogeta.

Also I'm starting to regret not having Tohru in here. This started with just "Momiji and Machi and excluding Yuki" and then I added the others in because it made logical sense and I thought it would be cute to have Machi bond with the other Souma. And it's most cute of all to have Machi and Tohru bond, as Tumblr fandom keeps reminding me, but unfortunately that is just Too Pure for me to do proper justice and I need to waste my talents on shit like this instead. But it seems really weird for Momiji not to have invited Tohru.

Okay maybe Momiji _did_ invite Tohru, this is a little flimsy because _momijigari_ is a decent window of time unlike, say, cherry blossom viewing, Momiji would have plenty of chances, but let's say he picked this particular weekend and he invited Tohru to quality-time admire some autumn foliage with him ( _koyo_ is the same way you write Momiji's name, but pronounced differently, so Momiji purposefully makes this offer around Kyou and makes suggestive faces at Kyou while Tohru isn't looking, while Kyou is like _whyyyyy must you pick on me like this_ ). But Tohru was like "Ohh that's really sweet but I'm so sorry, Momiji, Shishou already invited us to the dojo to see the leaves there. But I really really want to see the leaves with you too, so let's make a plan for another day, okay?"

Alright, Kyou, Momiji sees what you did there. Fine then. Fine. You win this round. He'll go autumn leaf hunting with Yuki's girlfriend instead.

This is also better for Yuki not getting an invite, because it wouldn't go well asking Tohru to keep it secret from Yuki.

Anyway I'm sorry Tohru can't bond with them about Mogeta, but we know that Machi and Kagura and Kisa and Hiro (who won't admit it in exactly those terms) are avid Mogeta fans. I expect Momiji likes it too, and that Haru--if he's not watching it on his own--has watched because Kisa is interested in it. I feel like Rin is like Hiro and is like "screw this dumb show" but then binges it lol.

So they chat about Mogeta, and how much they love it, and the weird crap it does, and if the storytelling will turn out to be actually secretly brilliant, and the manga versus the anime, and which opening is best, and Rin's secret Mogeta fanart, fuck you Haru that's not a thing, and after a while they all migrate indoors because trying to all huddle over Momiji's phone to stream episodes together is a huge pain.

There should be a brilliant segue here to lead us into the next section, but I don't have it, so apparently the other thing I decided they should have in common for bonding is video games. They went to Haru's house to watch Mogeta because it was closest or whatever, and he's got game systems scattered around, and in between Mogeta episodes Machi stares at them.

She's vaguely intrigued by the idea of video games, because Kakeru is pretty into them, but she is also definitely distrustful of the idea of video games, because they are Kakeru's thing. But she's curious.

So of course Haru and Rin, who name their children after… _Kingdom Hearts_ characters right???, they are extremely invested in enabling Machi on video games. Shit now all I can think of is my coworker from Bulgaria whose favorite phrase when learning a new skill is "Now I'm not a virgin at this anymore."

A classic game like Tetris does not go over well. The pressure of Tetris fills Machi with screaming, heart-pounding, controller-throwing rage. Possibly Haru and Momiji already guessed this from classroom-trashing rumors and they did _not_ try Tetris.

Man this is when I wish I knew more about video games so I'd know what is more Machi's speed. What is full of wanton destruction?

...I have never played _Grand Theft Auto_ myself but I feel like that is probably. It.

This relates to a prompt that Katia_chan gave me, for Hiro and Kisa and "Teach me how to play?", which I haven't written up yet but which I did plan at least "Haru is playing violent video games and Kisa, who bites people, is like 'Teach me how to play I need to channel my oncoming teen angst and destress' while Hiro's horrified like 'noooooo I know you are a year older than me and all but you're precious and pure and why are you corrupting her, Haru-nii????'"

Consider this that prompt, maybe.

Also this makes me nostalgic for _Need For Speed_ , a game I was never good at and which was a source of endless frustration. But what if they played it _to be_ bad at it? All taking turns and cheering each other on, competing to see who can make the best fiery crash, who can get the most cops following them without getting caught, if you go fast enough can you crash through that fence?? Machi going from deadpan to rage faster than the cars, everyone laughing until they're crying while offering incoherent advice to each other because they can't breathe.

It's very wholesome wanton destruction, and Machi has a lot of fun. Is this what it's like to be Yuki, hanging out with Kakeru, growing as a person???

(Yes, this is exactly what it's like. Good for you, Machi.)

I think the moral of this self-indulgence is that much later, when Yuki actually brings Machi around to introduce his girlfriend officially, everyone at the Main House is like "Uh yeah we've already met her? She's Momiji and Haru's friend and she's cool?? It's weird that you wanted to keep a secret girlfriend from us you creep???" and Yuki's like "fuck you Momiji why are you always like this."

Also I'm thinking now about Yuki having a ginko leaf bookmark because ~he likes yellow~ and like would he make it himself, because handmade and taking care of it and cute? Or would he realize that unlike Machi, who does have fine motor skills but has _just stopped caring about effort_ because trauma, he is _not_ capable of doing something like that neatly just because he concentrated and took his time and maybe if he wants a legit usable bookmark that looks nice and preserves his souvenir he should ask Tohru to make it for him.


End file.
